1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photographic processing apparatus for photosensitive material. More particularly, the present invention relates to a photographic processing apparatus for photosensitive material in which a drier dries the photosensitive material by applying heat, and an energy saving operation is possible even in generating the heat.
2. Description Related to the Prior Art
A printer/processor is an apparatus used in a photo laboratory, and in which a printer section and a processor section are combined in a single manner. Photographic paper as photosensitive material is set in a paper magazine, cut by a cutter according to a printing size into a paper sheet. The paper sheet is subjected to exposure for printing in an exposure unit, to record an image photographically in a form of a latent image. The photographic paper after the exposure is aligned in one train or sorted into plural trains by a sorter, and is fed to a processor section. As is well-known in the art, the processor section includes feeding rollers and plural processing baths. The feeding rollers feed the photographic paper. The processing baths contain processing liquid for color development, bleach/fixing, rinsing and stabilization. The feeding rollers feed the photographic paper into the processing baths, causes the photographic paper to pass in the processing liquid for photographic processing.
The photographic paper after the development is moist with water. A squeezing unit removes water from the photographic paper being developed, before the photographic paper is fed into a drier and dried. The drier is constituted by a feeding rack for feeding the photographic paper, a fan or blower and a heater. The heater heats air, which is caused to flow and blow the photographic paper for the purpose of drying.
The heater is kept turned off when in a ready state. In response to an image output signal for printing to the photographic paper, the heater is turned on. Also, supply of the photographic paper is started. The heater raises the temperature of the drive to a predetermined drying temperature before the photographic paper reaches the drier.
However, a considerably high electric energy is required to raise the air temperature of the drier to a target temperature before the time of reach of the photographic paper to the drier after outputting of an image output signal for printing to the photographic paper. The energy to this end is generally higher than required for drying the photographic paper. Furthermore, the temperature in the drier is remarkably low when in an environment of a low temperature. If the heater is driven with electric energy equal to that in the room temperature, time for rise to the predetermined drying temperature is longer. In the prior art, the drier is kept at a constant high temperature by preheating operation, which causes wasteful use of power.
In view of the foregoing problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a photographic processing apparatus for photosensitive material in which a drier dries the photosensitive material by applying heat, and wasteful use of power can be prevented.
In order to achieve the above and other objects and advantages of this invention, a photographic processing apparatus for photosensitive material is provided, and includes a processing bath for processing the photosensitive material. A drier is positioned downstream from the processing bath, for heating air and for drying the photosensitive material by blowing the photosensitive material with the heated air. A feeding mechanism feeds the photosensitive material in a predetermined travel path which begins on an upstream side of the processing bath, extends through the processing bath, and ends at the drier. A first time estimating unit estimates expected travel time for passing of the photosensitive material through the predetermined travel path in feeding of the feeding mechanism. A second time estimating unit estimates expected warmup time for warming up the air in the drier up to a target temperature. A controller compares the expected travel time and the expected warmup time, initially starts heating in the drier if the expected warmup time is longer than the expected travel time, and starts actuation of the feeding mechanism when time of a difference between the expected travel time and the expected warmup time elapses after start of the heating in the drier, so as to synchronize warmup of the drier to the target temperature with a reach of the photosensitive material to the drier.
Furthermore, a temperature sensor measures an initial temperature of the air in the drier. The second time estimating unit estimates the expected warmup time according to the initial temperature.
The controller initially starts the actuation of the feeding mechanism if the expected warmup time is shorter than the expected travel time, and starts the heating in the drier when time of the difference between the expected travel time and the expected warmup time elapses after start of the actuation of the feeding mechanism.
The first time estimating unit includes a memory for storing information of the expected travel time at an address of information of a type of the photosensitive material.
The second time estimating unit includes a target temperature memory area for storing information of the target temperature. A time memory area stores information of the expected warmup time at an address of information of a temperature difference between the initial temperature and the target temperature.
The target temperature is constant.
The target temperature memory area stores the information of the target temperature at an address of information of a size of the photosensitive material.
The second time estimating unit includes a memory for storing information of the expected warmup time at an address of predetermined information that is at least one of a processed amount of the photosensitive material being supplied per unit time, a size of the photosensitive material, a type of the photosensitive material, outer temperature and outer humidity.
Furthermore, a mode selector designates a selected one of a first mode and a preheating mode. The controller, when the first mode is designated, operates according to the difference between the expected travel time and the expected warmup time, and when the preheating mode is designated, drives the drier for heating at a preheating temperature that is lower than the target temperature.
The controller drives the drier for heating at the target temperature in response to a start of feeding of the photosensitive material with the feeding mechanism during heating at the preheating temperature.
An upstream end of the predetermined travel path is provided with a photosensitive material magazine set thereon, the magazine contains the photosensitive material in a roll form. Furthermore, an exposure unit is disposed between the magazine and the processing bath, for exposure to record an image on the photosensitive material.
The drier includes a heater for heating the air. A fan or blower causes the air from the heater to flow.
The drier further includes a guide panel opposed to the photosensitive material, the photosensitive material being extended along the guide panel when fed. Plural nozzle holes are formed in the guide panel. An air duct defines an air path extending from the fan or blower to the guide panel, to direct the air from the fan or blower through the nozzle holes toward the photosensitive material.
The feeding mechanism includes a belt or roller for feeding the photosensitive material opposed to the guide panel.